Azerbaijan Airlines, the carrier of the passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day, said preliminary investigations have found the disaster occurred “as a result of physical and technical external interference,

On 25 December, 38 people died when an Azerbaijan Airlines flight, which had been due to land in Russia, crash-landed in Kazakhstan. The circumstances around the crash remain unclear, but limited evidence so far suggests it may have been damaged by missiles fired by a Russian air-defence system as it tried to land in Chechnya.

Airlines are avoiding Russian airspace after an Azerbaijan Airlines flight crashed on Wednesday, killing 38 passengers. The Embraer 190 jet was bound for Russia from Azerbaijan — but veered off course after sustaining some kind of damage over Russia. It managed to reach Aktau airport in Kazakhstan before crash-landing. 29 passengers survived.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Russia’s air defense systems were active when an Azerbaijan Airlines flight attempted to land in Grozny, Chechnya on Wednesday.

At least three more airlines have suspended certain flights to and from Russia after the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger jet in Aktau, Kazakhstan, on December 25.

Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, likely caused by Russian air defense, shines light on a glaring issue the Kremlin has long swept under the rug.

Azerbaijan on Sunday paid tribute to the pilots and passengers of the Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan killing 38 people after Russian air defences were used against Ukrainian drones.